Tokyoites don't have martial virtue

As soon as Kyushu Makoto finished speaking, a graduation photo of a blonde delinquent girl appeared on the big screen.

"Suoh-kun, you said Karasukawa-senpai is a top student, so she wouldn't abuse her power or extort money from her classmates." Kyushu Makoto crossed his arms, almost bursting into laughter.

"If I were to say that Senior Karasu is actually a delinquent pretending to be a model student, would you take back what you just said?"

At that moment, Karasu Sakifumi's pupils shrank sharply, revealing an expression more unsightly than death.

41. Culinary Master-Level Defense Techniques

The photo displayed on the big screen was none other than the "graduation photo of a delinquent girl" that Makoto Kyushu obtained from Karasukawa's parents' bedroom.

"Everyone, doesn't the girl in the photo look familiar?" Kyushu Makoto walked to the projection screen and introduced her.

"Her facial features and face shape are just like Karasawa-senpai's, right? That's right, this is what Karasawa-senpai looked like in middle school!"

Kyushu Makoto's words were like a bombshell, causing the entire courtroom to erupt in uproar and discussion.

"Silence! Silence!" The judge banged his gavel anxiously and asked, "What exactly is going on, Kyushu?"

Kyushu Makoto's eyes curved into crescent moons, and he smiled wryly.

"Everyone at this school seems to think that Senior Karasawa has always been a good student, but that's not the case! I specifically went to Chiba Prefecture, where she used to live, to investigate. She was a notorious bad student in middle school, and she even beat up delinquents from the vocational high school so badly that they ended up in the hospital!"

Although Kyushu Makoto's words were hard to believe, when they saw the photo of Kogarakawa, with dyed blond hair, black eyeliner, a fierce look, holding a bamboo sword, and wearing a delinquent outfit, they couldn't say anything to refute him.

Karasu Saki was furious. Her hands were clenched into fists, her fingernails digging into her flesh, and she looked like she was gritting her teeth. Her face was so dark it was almost dripping with water, and her eyes seemed to want to tear Kyushu Makoto in two.

She never expected that Makoto Kyushu would use this photo as a trump card.

Most people in society tend to place great importance on others' "dark history" and "past." If someone has made a serious mistake, no matter how hard they try to change, they will still be subjected to unwarranted ridicule and ostracism.

[A guy who's made this kind of mistake before is definitely trash for life, never have anything to do with him!] That's what people think.

Therefore, most people have to do their best to hide their past when entering a new group, even if it's just their past embarrassing moments of being a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome).

That's why Karasukawa Saki went to great lengths to hide her identity as a "delinquent girl" in junior high school, so that people wouldn't look at her with prejudice.

"Where...where did you find this photo?" After a long pause, Karasu Sakifumi asked in a low voice.

"Huh~ Where did I find this~?" Kyushu Makoto scratched his head and thought for a moment, then pretended to be clueless:

"Maybe you accidentally dropped it in the school corridor and I found it?"

"You're lying! I destroyed all the photos a long time ago!" Karasu Saki slammed her hand on the table and scolded sharply.

"So you're admitting you're a delinquent girl?" Kyushu Makoto grinned, a smug smile on his face.

"I..." Despite her best efforts to hold back, Karasukawa Saki finally slammed her fist on the table in anger: "You bastard!"

"Wait...wait...what is all this...?" Prosecutor Suoh Takefumi was completely overwhelmed and buried his head in his hands, slumped over his desk.

"As Suoh just said, a student as excellent as Karasukawa-senpai wouldn't abuse her power to extort classmates," Kyushu Makoto pressed his advantage, launching a barrage of attacks:

"But what if Senior Karakawa was a delinquent from the beginning, and she deceived all of you for three years to climb to the position of newspaper president? Can you really be sure that such a cunning delinquent wouldn't blackmail me?"

"I...I...Ahhh, stop talking!" Suoh Takefumi's head was spinning, his glasses were fogged up by the heat from his brain, and his body began to convulse wildly.

"Oh, it seems the prosecutor is tired again~" Kyushu Makoto looked at Suo Takefumi curiously, then asked the judge:

"Judge, should we take another fifteen-minute break to allow the prosecution team to organize their thoughts?"

The judge also looked hesitant, his gavel hovering in mid-air.

If this "class referee" were a fighting match, the defendant would have already knocked out the prosecution twice.

"Wait a moment!"

Just then, Karasu Saki slammed his hand on the table, his eyes filled with indignation, and shouted, "What kind of nonsense is this, Kyushu Makoto! Who suddenly exposes a witness's dirty secrets?!"

"That's called 'supplementary explanation,' a common tactic in court." Kyushu Makoto, too lazy to explain further, chuckled, "Go home and Google it yourself, Karasukawa-senpai, the fake model student~"

"You brat..." Karasu Saki slammed his fist on the table, his face turning blue and purple, with visible veins and muscle marks on his arm.

"Ya Chuan, you don't look too well...why don't you want to go and rest for a while?" The judge asked quickly upon seeing this.

But Karasukawa Saki took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

"Please wait a moment, Your Honor," said Karasu Saki. "This matter concerns my personal reputation, and I must say a few words!"

"Then...please proceed." The judge nodded worriedly.

Karasukawa Saki raised her head, forcing a confident look as she surveyed the entire audience of teachers and students, and began to defend herself:

"Dear teachers and classmates, I am very sorry for lying to you for so many years! I was indeed a delinquent student in junior high school and did many bad things, which I deeply regret!"

"After entering high school, I suddenly realized that I couldn't continue to be so degenerate! That's why I deliberately hid my dark history from junior high school and wanted to start anew!"

"As you all have seen, during my three years at Xiujin Academy, I have always been dedicated to my duties, both as a student and as a member of the news department!"

"I'm sorry, it was wrong of me to deceive everyone for so long! But I have deeply reflected on my actions and have turned over a new leaf. I will never repeat the mistakes I made in middle school, and I have never extorted any other classmates! Please believe me!"

She spoke with unwavering conviction, every word seemingly from the heart, her tone impeccably sincere, and tears welled in her eyes, as if she were about to cry from grievance.

If this is just a performance, then Senior Karasu has probably reached an unparalleled level of skill.

After listening to Karasukawa Saki's sudden confession, most of the students in the audience showed complicated expressions.

Should we believe her?

"But Senior Yagawa said she has already reformed..."

"That's all acting! We can't be fooled by this bad woman!"

"She's been working very hard for the past three years; she must really want to change herself..."

"But...she was a delinquent girl before, so she'll probably still extort money from others, right?"

The students seemed to be divided into two camps, discussing quietly. The jury also began to argue, and the two members of the news department slumped in their chairs, silent and clearly having given up on thinking.

Realizing the situation was getting increasingly out of control, the judge struck the gavel three more times, ordering everyone to be quiet.

In the prosecution's seat, Takefumi Suo was slumped on the table in agony; in the witness's seat, Saki Karasawa had a gloomy face; and in the defendant's seat, Makoto Kyushu had a smug grin on his face, creating a tense atmosphere.

The judge sighed with difficulty and said:

"To be honest, I no longer know whether or not this trial should continue."

At this point, the chairman of the board in the audience also stood up and spoke: "I also feel that this trial has deviated from its original topic, and stopping it immediately would be a wise decision."

The judge regretfully raised his gavel and announced, "This 'class trial' will have to be adjourned temporarily..."

"Wait a minute!" Just then, Kyushu Makoto spoke up.

"What's wrong, defendant?" the judge asked.

"I'd like to say a few more words to the witness, Karasukawa-senpai," Kyushu Makoto said, already walking up to Karasukawa-senpai.

"What else do you want to say?" Senior Ya Chuan frowned, her beautiful eyes filled with barely suppressed murderous intent.

Kyushu Makoto gave her a smug look and whispered in her ear, "Hey, have you ever heard of a yakuza organization... called Tengu something... Tengu Society? Tengu Group? Tengu Alliance?"

Upon hearing this word, Senior Yagawa's eyes widened in shock, her whole body trembled as if all the warmth had been stolen from her, and her fair face turned completely black.

For a fleeting moment, it seemed that Makoto Kyushu saw a deathly omen of despair in her eyes.

"How...how did you know..." Karasu Sakifumi managed to squeeze out the words almost weakly.

"I also happened to see some old work photos of your father; he was quite handsome~" Kyushu Makoto whispered in her ear again:

"Now I'll share some photos of your father at work with everyone. What do you think?"

"You...you bastard..." Karasuka Sakifumi was filled with anger and despair, her eyes gradually becoming vacant, her body trembling uncontrollably: "You can't do this...you can't do this..."

"If you don't want the whole school to know that your father is involved in organized crime, then do me one thing." Kyushu Makoto snapped his fingers lightly.

Having reached this point, Kyushu Makoto felt exhilarated. It was like a hunter who, after countless hardships, finally lured a cunning prey into his carefully laid trap.

Kyushu Makoto took a deep breath and said in a commanding tone:

"Consider this my revenge. Now, confess all your despicable and atrocious acts right here and now. Do not lie for a single word!"

"..."

Karasu Saki's eyes were lifeless, and she stood frozen in place, seemingly terrified.

If the whole school knew that my father was involved in organized crime, and that he was the kind of person who had killed people and run illegal businesses, how would they see me?

I've tried so hard to hide it, to keep climbing higher... I absolutely cannot let anyone know my father is involved in organized crime... I'd rather die than let anyone know...

Why... does Kyushu Makoto have so much leverage over me? Where did these photos come from? I clearly destroyed all my old photos. Did he break into my parents' room and take these pictures?

Why... even though we're already in our final year of high school... even though we've come this far...

If Makoto Kyushu releases the photos and everyone finds out I'm the daughter of a yakuza, I'm finished... the newspaper club is finished too, and the school will definitely investigate seriously...

No matter what I choose... it's a dead end... I'm finished... My father is the shame of my life...

"How disgusting, they kept it from us for so long!"

"So her father is involved in organized crime, how scary!"

"Did Karakawa-kun lie about saying he hated the yakuza?"

"I don't want to be classmates with gangsters, get out of school!"

The chatter in the courtroom echoed in her ears. Perhaps she was hallucinating from being too panicked, but she seemed to really hear her classmates scolding her and staring at her with disdain.